The Procedure

Before you decide whether or not to go ahead with semi-permanent make-up you will need to have a consultation with a semi-permanent make-up artist/technician to make sure you are suitable for treatment and to discuss your goals and expectations. A medical history should be taken and you should be asked to fill in a consent form to say you fully understand the procedure and its associated risks and complications. Your practitioner may also take photographs to use as a before and after comparison later.

Your consultation may be done on the same day or on a different day to your treatment. In some cases a topical anaesthetic may be used to minimise discomfort during treatment. Whether or not you have this will be down to you and yoursemi-permanent make-up technician.

The practitioner will then usually mark out the area being treatment with a cosmetic pencil to act as a guideline. The pigments are then placed under the skin using a very fine needle attached to a hand held electrical device.

Your treatment may take anywhere between half an hour and two hours depending on the area(s) you are having treated. You will usually need to come in for more than one appointment to achieve the right result as the pigments may be absorbed and need topping up.

Because the techniques used nowadays are more natural and require less pigment, your results may not last as long as in the past where more pigment was used. How long your results last will vary depending on how quickly your body absorbs the pigment but can be anywhere between three months to two years.